News Briefs Around Sentara 

Potomac Hospital

Sentara and Potomac Hospital of Woodbridge, Va., Announce Intent to Merge
On June 26, Sentara and Potomac Hospital of Woodbridge, Va., announced they have signed a letter of intent to merge. The partnership between the two not-for-profit institutions will provide the resources essential to continue to offer quality healthcare services to eastern Prince William County and the surrounding area. As part of the agreement, a community health foundation will be established to help address the unmet medical needs of Prince William area residents and to support Potomac Hospital. Sentara will safeguard Potomac Hospital’s future with investments in healthcare infrastructure to meet the needs of a growing community and assure delivery of quality services. Read the news release.

(L-R) Beth Lindsay Wood, Bert Reese and Janet Horton at a Sentara eCare® launch

Sentara IT Wins CIO 100 Award
Sentara is the recipient of CIO magazine’s 2009 CIO 100 award. CIO magazine is an international trade publication. The 2009 CIO 100 award recognizes a select group of organizations around the world each year for operational and strategic excellence in IT. Congratulations to Bert Reese, Sentara vice president and chief information officer, along with the entire Sentara IT team, who are doing a great job rolling out Sentara eCare®, which already enjoys a physician participation rate much higher than the national average. Sentara eCare® is also showing tangible improvements in patient safety and markedly lower times for prescription delivery to the bedside, from an average of 132 minutes to 35. Read a news release.

Optima Maintains NCQA Rating
Congratulations to Optima Health for maintaining its ‘Excellent’ accreditation from NCQA. Optima is Virginia’s only commercial HMO to maintain NCQA’s highest rating since 1998.

King Neptune and His Court Visit Sentara LifeCare Facilities
On May 7, King Neptune Randy Sutton and his court visited residents at the Norfolk and Virginia Beach campuses of Sentara Village and Sentara Nursing Center facilities. The visit provided residents a chance to meet King Neptune and his court. At the end of each visit, one of the members of King Neptune’s court sang for the residents. Read for more information about the Neptune festival.

Sentara Bayside Hospital Wins VHA Award
Congratulations to Sentara Bayside Hospital on winning a VHA 2009 Leadership award for Clinical Excellence in AMI, heart failure, pneumonia and SCIP as measured against CMS and The Joint Commission criteria and national comparative performance benchmarks. VHA is a voluntary organization in which Sentara belongs, supporting strong financial performance through clinical excellence and supply chain management. The Clinical Excellence category recognizes organizations that have differentiated themselves from other health care organizations around national performance standards by achieving a high level of performance as measured by clinical quality indicators of CMS or The Joint Commission. 

Children from Woodlawn Learning Center serenaded Donald Barrow with “You Are My Sunshine" as he entered the center.

Optima Employee Receives Proclamation from Hopewell
Congratulations to Donald Barrow, account manager for Optima Family Care, who received a proclamation from the City of Hopewell, Va., on May 28. The proclamation of Donald Barrow Day was presented by Mayor Brenda S. Pelham and the Hopewell City Council in recognition of Barrow’s valuable contributions to community initiatives on behalf of Optima Health. Barrow was also recognized for the positive impact he has made to the community and his efforts to help ensure a strong community partnership with Hopewell Head Start and Optima Health. The award was presented to Barrow at Woodlawn Learning Center in Hopewell, where he does a lot of volunteer work.

Sentara Employees Win Regional EMS Awards
Congratulations to the following three Sentara employees who were honored at this year’s Tidewater Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council awards dinner. Outstanding EMS Administrator went to Sentara Nightingale Air Ambulance manager Chris Cannon, who is also a flight nurse. He brings a wealth of experience to the program and has led Nightingale to accreditation by CAMTS, the gold standard for air ambulance accreditation. Outstanding Telecommunications Officer went to Megan Beatty of Medical Transport, for her maturity, professionalism and cool head in challenging situations, training of new employees and consistent contributions to system improvements. Outstanding Emergency Nurse went to Sunshine Barrett at Sentara Obici Hospital, for her “unsurpassed leadership and management qualities as well as unparalleled treatment skills as a nurse.” Congratulations to Chris, Megan and Sunshine.

Medical Transport Provides International Transport
In May, Medical Transport provided its first international transport of a patient from Hampton Roads to Montreal, Quebec. While vacationing in the Outer Banks, a Canadian tourist suffered a stroke, which required hospitalization and treatment. Once stabilized, the patient, who lives in Quebec, wanted to return home for care. A Medical Transport crew drove the patient 729 miles, with passports in hand, to Quebec, and then safely returned back to Hampton Roads.

Ethlyn Gibson (center) is pictured with participants at the health fair.

Sentara CarePlex Hospital Reaches Out to the Community
Sentara CarePlex Hospital participated in the 9th annual health fair at Achievable Dream Academy on April 16 in Newport News. The event was attended by more than 400 community members, including adults, children, teachers and staff from Achievable Dream Academy middle and high school. Achievable Dream Academy is a unique partnership of Newport News public schools, the business community and the City of Newport News. Special thanks to Tammy Smith, Ethlyn Gibson and Ron Toran for their efforts.

Risk Manager Elected to Risk Management Board
Congratulations to Chuck Miller, risk manager for Sentara Bayside Hospital/Sentara Princess Anne and Sentara Enterprises, on his election to the board of directors for the Virginia Chapter of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Receives Merit Award
Congratulations to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital for receiving the 2008-2009 Award of Merit from the Council of Garden Clubs of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Beautification Commission. The award was presented to the hospital for its efforts in consistently maintaining an attractive and litter free premise.

2010 Census: "It’s In Our Hands"
Every 10 years, the United States government sets out to count each resident of the U.S. to make sure each of us has fair representation in Congress. This is known as the census. Beyond that, answers will shape our world over the next 10 years. Counts will help decide how much federal money comes to Hampton Roads for transportation projects, education, road way improvements, public health assistance, senior services, and others. It is your duty to complete it and it's the law to fill it out. All responses are confidential and legal status is NOT a question. The 2010 Census is one of the shortest in history, with only about 10 questions for each household. Remember, your answers are vital to the health of our area. For more information, visit the Census Bureau.

Sentara Volunteer Receives Recognition in Virginia Beach
Congratulations to Rita Fillmore, volunteer at Sentara Bayside Hospital, Optima Health and Preventive Services and Sentara Living, who received an “Exemplary Service to Seniors” award from the Virginia Beach Mayor’s Commission on Aging on June 3. The award is presented to an individual who, through volunteering, has helped the senior citizens of Virginia Beach in an extraordinary way.